Jun 2002 Makes rapid recovery from broken foot to take part in World Cup but well below his best as England go out to Brazil in the last eight

Jun 2004 Blazes penalty over the bar as England lose a shoot-out to Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals

Nov 2005 Captains England for 50th time in friendly win over Argentina

Jun 2006 Limps out of England's defeat to Portugal in World Cup quarter-finals. Announces resignation as captain the following day

Aug 2006 Dropped from new boss Steve McClaren's first England squad

He brought a profile with him to the England team. I don't think I have ever seen an England player with such a high profile. It was a Beckham phenomenon, in the Far East particularly, where he was treated like a pop star.

But he had good family values and although a lot of people tried to do him down he survived all of that and his image was good for England.

Of course, he will always be remembered towards the latter part of his England career as Sven-Goran Eriksson's favoured man but he was more than that.

I don't think it was a case of either needing the other, it was a marriage that worked well.

I think he possibly felt his time had come, certainly when you say you have finished with the captaincy.

Normally you have the captaincy taken away from you. I lost it because I was injured to Bobby Moore.

David Beckham pre-empted that and I can't think of any other England captain who has resigned.

Steve McClaren wants to make some sort of break from the Eriksson regime, but will find it difficult as he was Eriksson's right-hand man for so long.

But in leaving David Beckham out I don't think he's necessarily making a statement just yet - this is only a friendly.

In football, you can never say never, and his international career might not yet be over.

Let's see what team Steve McClaren puts out when we play the competitive games in the European Championship qualifying matches.

VIEW FROM THE FANS

Members of the 606 message board have been giving their views too, here is a selection of what they have said so far:

MCCLAREN'S RIGHT

JD: I think McClaren's done well so far. He's made JT his captain, is bringing in Venables as his advisor, and has shown that he doesn't hold Beckham as sacred, as his predecessor did. Fair play to him.

TH: It is absolutely the right thing to do. England as a team won't make any progress on their utterly dismal performances until the circus that surrounds them is removed.

LG: : I'll be honest, I wasn't over enthused by McClaren's appointment but he's made a couple of key decisions that can only be good for England, leaving Beckham out was exactly the right thing to do.

RK: It's the best news that England have had in ages - it's about time SOMEBODY realised that Beckham is past his peak.

AL: Beckham's over the hill, it's time for new blood. What would McClaren gain from keeping him in the squad knowing he's going to be 33 at Euro 2008?

MCCLAREN'S WRONG

NS: This is pathetic. Now that Beckham isn't captain all respect for him is lost. He is still the best passer in the world and being the captain for so long, he adds maturity to the team. He is a great player and should play.

WI: Is David Beckham not one of the best players in the world? Why on earth would any manager leave him out of their squad?

PD: I think this is a bad sign for the English football team. This shows that McLaren is not thinking about the football team itself but trying to get the general public's vote by dropping Beckham - which was widely called for.

PV: I think that David Beckham should definitely be kept in the squad. Everyone goes on about how Wayne Rooney is the best in the squad, but without Beckham, the squad has instantly lost 50% of its feed to the strikers.

FG: Beckham's not a bad player at all, he didn't have a very good World Cup but who did? His form for one of the biggest sides in the world is consistently good. To drop him seems stupid!